Tears
by GirlWithNoLife
Summary: Once a month the moon goes dark. This is because of MiM's sister, whose name, like one's future, is a Mystery. Nonetheless, you all know her and while you fear her you must meet her head on, or you will never meet your future. This is her story. (I swear this isn't an OC throwing herself at a character. Please read before you reject it.) (previously in ROTG until I moved it here.)


The Keeper of the Unknown

Summary: One a month the moon goes dark. This is because of MiM's sister, whose name, like one's future, is a Mystery. Nonetheless, you all know her and while you fear her you must meet her head on, or you will never meet your future. This is her story.

Disclaimer: Everything RotG and GoC belongs to William Joyce and Dreamworks

Notes: I know everyone hates OCs, but please read before you flame. I swear this isn't a Oc x Cannon character, so please give it a chance!

*(O)*

You all know the story of the Guardians; Santa Claus, the Tooth Fairy, Easter Bunny, Sandman, Mother Goose, the Man in the Moon, and even Jack Frost for they have always been there in your heart since the day you smiled for the first time. You even know Pitch Black; for he was there you first felt that shiver of fear running down your spine.

But there is one who you may not know of for she takes many forms and her name is just as many. Few recognize her when they meet, but all the same she knows _you_ very well.

Because though you do not know her you all have met her and at one time or another feared her like you did the monsters under your bed and must face her many times in your life time.

So what would you call this nameless figure you may ask? Who is she exactly? Well, you simply call her the "Unknown," or perhaps "Mystery" for that is what she rules and with it she guards your future.

However, the Man in the Moon calls her something else; He calls her _"sister"_ for once upon a time, there was a time they were siblings. In fact, long ago she had a name, though she cannot remember it, nor does she care to.

She does remember a place she used to call "home" long ago though. It was during age known as the Golden Age, a time of hope and happiness, an era where dreams could true. She was born to Tsar Lunar and his fair wife, and ten years after her own birth, she was blessed with a pure and innocent baby brother, whom she adored above everything else. They shared a guardian named Nightlight, who certainly had his work cut out for him as Mystery was a very adventurous and fearless girl, who wanted to explore and see everything and since little MiM looked up to her, he would always follow. Together they lived happily in their marvelous ship, the Moon Clipper sailing from one planet to another, seeing the many wonders of the universe.

Yet at the time, Mystery wasn't content. Peace was fine and all, but it bored her. She wanted excitement, something to get her adrenaline running. Because of this whenever they landed on a planet Mystery would take her brother and explore by themselves (and Nightlight when he eventually caught up to them).

"Never fear the unknown, little man," she would tell her brother when the explored. "Just… approach with caution." And whenever faced with something new, the man in the moon did just that and because of that it was rare he was ever frighten. Mystery was proud of this fact in her own way, kind of selfish way.

Her father gave MiM the wonder that twinkled in his eyes, her mother gave him kindness that he shared with every being he met, and Nightlight gave him protection and happy dreams. It was nice to think that maybe she gave him the ability to be brave.

"My brother has never even had a nightmare." she would often say when bragging about her brother's bravery.

Mystery was so proud of her baby brother, but she never imagined the ramifications all this gloating would be. For when the Nightmare King Pitch heard of that her brother had never had a nightmare, he sought chase with the family and vowed to turn Mystery's precious brother into his Fearling Prince. Not willing to let that happen to the youngest member of their family, the Lunars flew to a planet known as earth.

"The perfect place to hide." They thought and for a while it was.

Until then one day while playing hide and seek with Nightlight she and MiM ran into an odd room that they had yet to explore in all their years on the ship. What really caught their attention however was the glowing crystal sphere in the middle of the room that had several rings floating around it.

"Toot toot?" MiM said curiously as they both gazed up at the object.

"It is amazing, isn't it?" Mystery said, her bright blue eyes shining with curiosity. She wondered what it did, what it was for. Looking closer, Mystery noticed a leveler near. She edged towards it. Her father told her never to play with his machines when they weren't around, but at the same time she wanted to see what this marvelous thing did.

"What do you think, little man?" MiM tilted his head in thought then threw his arms in the air encouragingly as he shouted,

"Toot, toot!" Giggling, Mystery stepped forward and pulled the lever back. In doing so, the whole thing began to shake and quake, making her jump back as she and her brother hugged each other in fright. A moment later a large, bright, red beam shot from the machine and into space, lighting the whole ship in a bright light. Moments later, Nightlight and her parents rushed in, a frantic look on their faces.

"What have you done?!" her mother exclaimed as Nightlight dashed over to the machine and turned it off, but it was too late.

Not even a second later, the whole ship rocked violently, almost sending them all to the floor. Quickly, they all rushed to deck and there Mystery saw an image that would haunt her forever.

In his Nightmare Galleon Pitch had found them and was now staring down at them with eyes colder than darkness.

"Where is that oh so innocent child that has never had a Nightmare?" he demanded. Mystery had never been so frightened. But at the same time she was never one to back down from fear, especially when her beloved brother was involved. So fists clenched against pale skin she stood protectively in front of MiM only to be pulled back by her mother then guarded by her father and Nightlight. This seemed to amuse Pitch as a cold sneer crossed his face before he signaled the attack.

Mystery was terrified as the ship rocked as shook from the battle. The sounds echoing in her head for years to come as she closed her eyes to try and block out the images. She could just barely hear her parents command Nightlight to take her and MiM to the hidden nursery deep within the tunnels of the ship.

"But first you must kneel and take this oath," they said over the roar of fire and smoke.

"_Watch over our children. Guide them safely from ways of harm. Keep happy their hearts, brave their souls, and rosy their cheeks. Guard with your life their hopes and dreams, for they are all we have, all we are, and all we will be."_

Nightlight did so. He then grabbed both the children and started to run. It was only then that Mystery realized that this would be the last time she would ever see her beloved mother and father again. Tears beating against her eyes and grief clouding her judgment, Mystery broke from Nightlight's grip and ran back towards her parents.

"No!"

"_No!" _Many voices rang out, but Mystery heard none of them for just then she was surrounded by a million dark shadows, all of them laughing as they cut her off from all light and began to pour INTO her, trying to drown everything that she was and craft her into one of them. Soon the images of her mother, father, and Nightlight vanished from her mind. Only one image remained.

"_Toot, toot!"_

Something inside her flared brightly, not enough to propel the shadows, but enough to protect her heart as everything else faded into oblivion.

*8*

When Mystery woke up she was all alone and changed almost completely. Her head and upper torso was the same, but her hands were large and black, her fingers long and bony, like spider legs. She noticed that her legs were gone and replaced with dark clouds.

'_What happened?'_ she wondered. '_Where am I?'_ Looking around she saw that she was surrounded by water from all directions, yet she was not drowning, or even trying to breath. She did not need to. She looked towards the surface; it was faint, but above there was light. Using a new ability Mystery managed to float to the surface.

Once she rose to the surface she could see a reflection in the water. She was startled at first, but took a closer look. There was a face that at first glance was childish, but upon closer look, there was a hint of something darker behind the black as night eyes that gleamed like ink against dead white skin.

'_Is that me?'_ No it couldn't be. That couldn't be her. She looked at her hands in fright. This wasn't her! It couldn't be! These… these were the hands of a monster! That girl looking up at her was a monster. That couldn't be her.

Frightened, she looked around for something, anything, anyone, but there was nothing but sea and darkness. She looked up and saw the moon clipper, but instead of shining like it should have, it was dark. So dark it melted in with the black night behind it.

"Mom? Dad?" she mumbled, her voice trembling like leaves on a windy day. "MiM? Nightlight?" No one replied.

_**They're gone.**_

Mystery cringed as the sound of a thousand voices, both young and old echoed throughout her body. They were so horrible and frightening. It was like listening to evil itself if it had a voice. And it was coming from _inside_ her.

_**It's your fault. **_They said._** If you weren't bragging about your brother**_-

"No…"

_**Then Pitch never would have known that MiM had never had a nightmare. He never would have sought him out.**_

"No, no!" Mystery thrashed side to side, her monstrous hands covering her whole head.

_**The worst part is that you had almost escaped. You were almost safe. Until you decided to let your curiosity get the better of you. **_

"Shut up!" Mystery screeched, whipping her head left and right so hard her neck bones could be heard cracking from the strain.

_**Just had to play with that switch, didn't you?**_

"St-STOP!"

_**You killed us**_. This time there were just four voices. Four voices that made her blood (or whatever ran through her now) run cold. Those voices were Nightlight and her family, blaming her for what she had done. _**It's all your fault.**_

Mystery threw back her head and left out a frightening cry that echoed in the wind as it carried it across the sea, striking terror into even the bravest sailors.

Tears of bitterness and grief falling like a rain storm, Mystery sank back to the bottom of sea where she remained for centuries to come.

*8*

During her time there her tears filled the sea, making it bitter and poisonous to anyone who drank it. Because of her weeping, there were occasions when the sea would over flow and flood the shores.

Eventually however, as with all tears, they stopped. And as the sea began to settle with her tears, she began to forget the world above and the family she once knew and loved until all she knew was darkness that seemed to be her very being now. Her darkness seeped into the bottom of the ocean, making it cold and dark, beyond habitation.

At first not even the creatures of the sea were able to live there, but over time they were able to overcome this darkness and even live within it. Some became monsters. Others simply became mysteries that people loved to imagine.

Mystery lived in this darkness, with only the voices inside her to keep her company. They were torture to her, but something inside her managed to keep her from succumbing to them and going mad. Something…. Warm and kind. Something that even though she had forgotten, still burned strong.

A great deal of time had passed before one day, something changed;

She decided to venture to the surface. Since she could not remember why she stayed hidden she didn't see why she shouldn't go to the surface and see how the world had changed. So she did.

It was a strange and odd feeling when she emerged from the water. She had forgotten about things such as 'air' and how a times it could become something called a 'breeze.' She found herself enjoying the gentle tough.

Mystery decided to travel only at night and in the shadows for the light, be it moon or sun, seemed to take great pleasure in reminding her what she was; A monster.

With every step Mystery's curiosity led her though, darkness would spread and in time they would create what humans come to call, "the unknown."

On occasions there were those who saw her and were curious, but they never approached for they were even more fearful.

At first Mystery wasn't bothered, but over time she became annoyed. She understood fear, but these people never did anything about it. They simply ran! Really, how did these people think they were going to accomplish anything if they always ran at the first sign of trouble?

Overtime, Mystery became so irritated that she would come up with new ways to terrify and mystify people. If they were cautious and clever, she would reward them with great prizes. Those who were brash and foolish however rarely lived to tell the tale.

Cruel, perhaps. But she defended with this; if they cannot face her then how did these mortals expect to face their future?

Sometimes Mystery admitted that did her job a little too well though for humans, as she quickly learned, reacted to fear in completely the wrong way, which always led to two options; flight or fight. Those who chose to fight became mad with terror of what they did not understand and would usually end up slaughtering innocents.

The darkness in her took great pleasure at that.

There were however, also those who did not fear her. Instead, they were mystified and intrigued with a desire to learn more. Depending on the steps they took to do so, Mystery would usually lead them to what they sought, the end result varying.

As the years passed, Mystery would hear stories of her obscurities, good and bad, and realized that though they were off by far usually, they lit a light inside the humans young and old. What that was she could not say, for it was alien to her, but it made the warm feeling inside hotter.

For centuries, Mystery continued her work, more for her entertainment than for the benefit of mankind, when one day, quite un-expectantly, she met an odd traveler.

He was short, round man, with big round eyes that twinkled in wonder, though at the moment there was something else there as well. A mixture of emotions that Mystery had long since forgotten the names to, but all the same she could recognize them. He wore a white suit and she noted that on the top of his head he had a long curl that resembled hers, though hers hung in her face now.

Mystery stared at him, her wide childlike eyes transfixed. She did not know him. So she was confused when he spoke to her.

"_Sister."_

Why did he call her that? She did not know that name. It was unfamiliar to her, she even told him that. The boy insisted that she _did_ know it and that she knew him, but try as she may she could not place him.

He did stir the warm feeling inside her though. Something about the man before her made that warm burn, until it hurt. But still she did not know this man.

Yet he insisted otherwise, so much so that she became annoyed and lashed at them all not caring if he lived or died. Her attack stopped however, when the man stepped forward holding something. In his hand was telescope.

"Never fear the unknown," he said softly, and gently. _"_Just approach with caution."And he did so. He wasn't afraid of her, but at the same time he wasn't being foolish about this. Though Mystery wouldn't say he was being wise.

She stared at the trinket. She didn't remember the trinket, but it brought a memory that had long since been buried in her grief.

"_Toot, toot!" _

A baby boy came to mind. Eyes as bright as the warm smile on his face as he watched passing planets with her and a glowing boy.

Mystery's face was the same as she reached one of her monstrous hands out for the item and took it, the little man looking hopeful as he did.

It took a bit, after all she had spent centuries forgetting her life, but eventually she did remember the boy whom she used to affectionately call "Little Man" or the Man in the Moon as another would call him.

When she did, she wanted to cry, but after years of weeping she had no more to shed. So she just stood there as her memories started to return, each making the voices of the shadows louder, and louder, until the final crushing memory came.

_**Your fault.**_

_**Your fault!**_

_**YOUR FAULT!**_

She didn't know how to take this. Despite her many years of life, she was still a child. A child who had been alone for hundreds of years, drowning in the guilt of what happened to her family. How was she supposed to handle this? How_ could_ she handle this? How?

Not able to hold back his _own_ emotions anymore, MiM pushed forward and embraced his elder sister for the first time in a long, long, time.

"I missed you, Sister_."_ He whispered as he held her close. Mystery wasn't sure how, but those words managed to push the dark thoughts back and turn the burning feeling inside into something gentle. Slowly, and with a bit of trouble, she embraced her brother so he looked like the shining moon against her darkness. They both started to cry and their tears looked like twinkling stars as they fell. Even Mystery, who thought she had no more shed weeped.

When they pulled away, Mystery wanted to say a million things, but all she said was three words that had haunted her for years.

"I'm so sorry."

Instead of blaming her like she thought he would, he smiled up at her with the kindest smile and held one of her long, claw like fingers.

"Let's go home."

Together, they returned to the Moon Clipper, and together they stayed as brother and sister. From then on they both carried out the duties they chose for themselves.

MiM would always guard the children with his life and Mystery would inspire their imagination and when they grew up she would test them to see if they could face their future.

Occasionally, Mystery's darkness would envelope the ship, but MiM's light would always make it shine one more without fail. But one thing would be for certain; no matter what happened, Mystery was home now. And with her family she stayed, forever.

*~End~*

This story was inspired when I asked myself a single question; how is William going to explain the dark side of the moon? And wa-la!

I'm no professional, (hence the reason I'm writing fanfiction), but I wrote this as best as I could in The Man in the Moon form (bedtime story), so I apologize for the story format. Well, tell me what you think and if you would like to learn more about this character and MiM in novel form (I'm better at those), or if you have any advice for a wannabe writer.

In other words, review please! And Merry Christmas!


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